Hello,
A buffer overflow has been identified in libtermcap.so.2.0.8 as found in
Slackware 4.0 and earlier, and an exploit for the problem was posted on
BugTraq today. The exploit (using setuid root /usr/X11R6/bin/xterm)
allows anyone with access to X on the machine to get a root shell.
Several packages have been uploaded to
ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/linux/slackware-4.0/ that fix this security hole.
The ChangeLog.txt entry and MD5 sums for the uploaded packages follow:
Sat Aug 28 20:18:45 CDT 1999
These packages fix a buffer overflow problem in libtermcap that can be
exploited to gain unauthorized root access. Below are fixed versions of
the affected packages suitable for use on Slackware 4.0 systems:
slakware/a4/elflibs.tgz: Patched buffer overflow in libtermcap.
slakware/d1/libc.tgz: Patched buffer overflow in libtermcap.
slakware/x1/xbin.tgz: Recompiled /usr/X11R6/bin/xterm, which had been
linked against a vulnerable libtermcap.a.
*** Alternate, minimal fix:
The directory below contains only the fixed versions of libtermcap
and xterm. Installing these two packages is also a complete fix for
the problem. In addition, these two upgrades are suitable for use
on Slackware 3.5, 3.6, 3.9, or 4.0.
patches/termcap.tgz: Fixed libtermcap.
patches/xterm.tgz: Fixed xterm.
----------------------------
MD5 sums:
d01747b9ffc7c9120f07995ec4e0cb02 slakware/a4/elflibs.tgz
4dee2fd9b1186120793e25661691a1e9 slakware/d1/libc.tgz
ba830ade8b7155f8834971119fb98d19 slakware/x1/xbin.tgz
9cd13b1169aa95a3e81d5a65ed12c444 patches/termcap.tgz
3e15d3264664f650e2075c29234edfea patches/xterm.tgz
Take care,
Pat

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